From a Melbourne rail professional who some say, has too much time on his hands, selected news and commentary to help preserve our enduring institutions and values, advance economic liberalism, social conservatism and other, sundry matters ... Online since 1999 ...

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Britain's opposition leader on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call an election in 2009, saying the country needs a chance to choose between their competing economic plans. In a written New Year's message to Conservative Party supporters, David Cameron said Brown had failed to prepare Britain for the financial crisis and was now pursuing policies likely to deepen and lengthen the country's recession. Brown, of the Labour Party, spent a decade as Treasury chief before he replaced Tony Blair as prime minister in 2007. Brown must call a national election by mid-2010. He has largely pinned his hopes of reviving Britain's economy on a 20 billion pound ($30.2 billion) package of tax cuts and public works projects. Cameron claims the package involves an irresponsible amount of government borrowing. >> more

... an aggressive polemic whose central argument-that America, at heart, has been and in many ways should remain a Christian, Anglocentric country. The author seeks at length to prove that the American Creed, which he defines as a Protestant-influenced ideology modeled on the British system, was the founders' original intent and remains America's best course ...

Like America, Australia too was founded by British settlers and it is my firm belief that we are facing the same identity challenges. I guess that I too, have lost confidence in the power of Australian identity, a distinctiveness proudly based on Anglo-Protestantism rudiments. The success of Australia, and the U.S. owes much to British and protestant beginnings that defined and created our legal and democratic systems, culture, and a “roll your sleeves up” work ethic.

Quotation

Cultural America is under siege and, as the Soviet experience illustrates, ideology is a weak glue to hold together people otherwise lacking racial, ethnic, and cultural sources of community

Similarly, is cultural Australia also under siege?

Undeniably there would be some interesting and persuasive correlations between both America and Australia in Huntington‘s writings. Through this post, I unashamedly record my preference to keep and uphold the present and future identity of our great nation rooted in its historic Anglo-Australian culture and Christian heritage.

Friday, December 26, 2008

The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy, and prosperity at the end of the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st century is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the ambitious, arrogant, unscrupulous ideology of environmentalism.

"Do you believe in Global Warming?" I have often been asked this question by people with little or no scientific background. It seems like a simple question that demands a "yes" or "no" answer. But in reality it is a complex question that cannot be reduced to an unqualified "yea" or "nay". The intent of this paper is not to resolve this question by rallying evidence for or against Global Warming (as if that can be done in a few pages!), but rather to lay bare the complexity of the climate change issue. Those who come to appreciate this fact will likely agree that simple answers are not only bad education, but can lead to bad policies.

As regards global warming, my view is essentially the same as yours: Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is a scam, with no basis in science. A few comments on my own particular view of global warming: (1) I am particularly annoyed by the claims that the "the debate is over," because this was exactly the claim originally made against the Copernican theory of the Solar System. Copernicus' opponents said the idea that the Earth was the third planet from the Sun was advanced by Aristrachus in 300 B.C. (true), and had been definitely refuted by 100 A.D. The debate is over! Sorry, it wasn't: the Earth IS the third planet.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Sometimes we get so absorbed by our daily challenges and routines that we fail to understand, let alone appreciate our creators plan for us. This is most true at Christmas. In a rush to get it all done and dusted, meals planned prepared and cooked, presents sourced purchased and wrapped, in addition to the many trappings of modern day life (including those forces that compel us to link our identity to such trappings), it is all too easy to get distracted from the message that Christmas brings.

We are, in spite of everything celebrating the birth of Jesus, son of God. The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of the prophecies of ages, and foretold, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (John 1:9).

Jesus was the one who saw it to establish a faith so powerful and mysterious, a faith based on the magic elixir of love. You see, Christmas is also a season of love, especially that love that we share with family, coming together to eat with those that mean the most, sharing a meal – a very human experience, remembering also, that the Eucharist is at the heart of our faith as Christians – the sacred meal.

Finally, let us not forget those servicemen and women who are defending our values in very dangerous places around the world.

Wishing all my readers and anyone else passing by, a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.

To my readers of other faiths, it is hoped that this post merely serves to deepen your understanding of ours.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The number of scientists that are coming out against the “undisputed fact” and “closed discussion” of global warming keeps getting larger as time passes. Last week, we had the 650 scientists in a Senate report who opposed global warming alarmist claims. Even the scientist at the helm of the UN's global warming panel has expressed some caution on jumping to conclusions based on the IPCC’s data.

Update: While most Australians can only dream of a white Christmas this week, Canadians are set to experience their whitest in almost 40 years. The entire country is covered in snow for the first time since 1971.Source

Monday, December 22, 2008

Victorian Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield recently launched his new personal website. Senator Fifield is deputy chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance & Public Administration and a voting member of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

He is also a member of the Coalition Waste Watch Committee. With Andrew Robb, Mitch publishes the policy journal - the Party Room - a journal of ideas … Before entering Parliament, Mitch worked as senior political adviser to the former Federal Treasurer and held senior advisory positions in the Kennett and Greiner state governments.

Ross Garnaut has launched a scathing attack on the Government's emissions trading policy, condemning its failure to embrace a more ambitious goal and the multibillion-dollar compensation for electricity generators.

In his first intervention after Monday's unveiling of the Government's blueprint, Professor Garnaut — the Government's climate guru — said last night that the plan would get "5½ out of 10 at a good university".

Writing in today's Age, he says it makes large transfers of money "from the general community to particular interests", and warns of its fiscal and environmental risks.

There is "no public policy justification for $3.9 billion in unconditional payments to generators" for hypothetical future loss of asset value.

"Never in the history of Australian public finance has so much been given without public policy purpose, by so many, to so few," he writes. "The best that can be said is that these are once-and-for-all payments — unless the spectacular success of investment in lobbying inspires repetition and emulation." >> more

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Institute of International Finance, the Washington-based association representing more than 375 of the world's major banks and financial institutions, has projected the world economy would shrink 0.4 per cent in 2009, after 2.0 per cent growth this year.

In a press release issued today, the institute says that, “the weakening economy will increase credit losses, continuing to put pressure on bank capital. This underscores the point that capital injection alone will not be sufficient to strengthen the banking system until the economy and financial markets stabilize.”

The US economy, the world's largest and the epicentre of the financial tsunami, would shrink 1.3 per cent in 2009 after growth of 1.2 per cent this year, according to the IIF projections. >> more

Otherwise said, it's a global recession in 2009.

In the apparent absence if any specific mention of Australia, it we be interesting to see how we fare in comparison.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A new breed of environmental activist is on the warpath in Britain — and ” breeding” is the operative word. With names like Lily, Tilly, and Joss they sound like characters in a BBC costume drama, or the guest list for a society ball. They are the scions of the great and the good, and they have nothing better to do than save the planet. Mike McNally Pajamas Media

Every now and then you have to be grateful when you discover our political leaders have told a deliberate, calculated lie. Monday was such a day. Kevin Rudd's announcement of a carbon emissions reduction target of 5 per cent by 2020 demonstrated that his pre-election claim that climate change was the great moral issue of our time, and demanding that Australia lead the way, was what Winston Churchill would call a terminological inexactitude: a whopper, a piece of bare-faced duplicity of epic proportions. But thank goodness Rudd and his colleagues deceived us. Janet Albrechtsen

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Liberals are correct in delaying their response to Labor's ETS white paper. With the details covering some 800 pages it's vitally important that it be reviewed with utmost care, especially given some of the flaws of it's earlier green paper.

Labor’s White Paper on an emissions trading scheme opens up a bucket load of complications and anomalies, leaving Australian families and industry exposed to higher taxes that most of the rest of the world will not pay. The Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Transport and Regional Development Minister, Warren Truss, said the complexity of the proposed ETS would make it a nightmare beyond any economic reform seen in this country. “A political leader of the past once had trouble trying to explain how the different components of a birthday cake were going to be taxed,” Mr Truss said. “The Rudd Government has unveiled a baker’s shop full of birthday cakes.” The Government may argue that agriculture is "exempt” from an ETS until at least 2015, but fails to take into account the increased cost of inputs and energy that will be used in producing Australia’s clean and green food and fibre. For example, New Zealand has decided to exempt food processing from its ETS. Rudd Labor’s White Paper does not provide the same exemption for Australia, so energy intensive industries like dairy processing would be placed at a severe disadvantage. “This means that we will see a flood of New Zealand dairy products onto the Australia market and our producers will lose the international markets they have fought long and hard to enter.” Mr Rudd was also unable to explain why an effective 100 million tonne decrease in Australian emissions will counter an expected 10 billion tonne increase in China’s emissions. The Rudd Government plan will just export emissions and Australian jobs. All the critical numbers in White Paper are based on a five percent reduction in emissions between 2000 and 2010 – that is effectively one tonne in every five compared with business as usual.

The Rudd Government’s modelling assumes that the rest of the world will act at Copenhagen next year and Australia will not be going it alone. “The ETS will hit some of the nation’s most energy efficient transport sectors such as rail, coastal shipping and aviation with much higher energy taxes. “Instead of trying to encouraging commuters to use rail to get to work, electric passenger rail services will be slugged with new taxes on the electricity they use. “If you live in remote Australia and need to fly to the city you will be taxed, which could lead to emissions rising, not falling. If you fly around Australia you will pay Labor’s new ETS, but if you go overseas it appears you won’t,” Mr Truss said. The Government’s White Paper is 800 pages long and the Coalition has asked the Centre for International Economics to examine Labor’s proposals and to report on the implications for Australian industry.

We remain sceptical about the need for the scheme given that temperatures have not warmed in ten years. In any event, even if some warming has occurred since the birth of the industrial age, there is a great body of science which excludes carbon emmisions from the cause. What body of science you ask? Begin here and here and then Google the question.

Like Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi said in an emailed newsletter, "I remain unconvinced about the need for an ETS given that carbon dioxide is vital for life on earth and the earth hasn't warmed since 1998".

Unlike the Government, I dare anyone to go to their local library and find even one science text that refers to Carbon, as a pollutant - the Government's favored descriptor.

Video: Carbon Dioxide: They call it pollution we call it life ...

For those viewing this post via feed, please visit site to view the accompanying video clip,by clicking here.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Rudd’s scheme massively increases government intervention in the economy ...

As the coalition goes about the business of commissioning an independent economic analysis of the Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme. We feel compelled to point out that the Libs are the opposition, sounds simple enough, however after reading that Malcolm Turnbull has, “left the door open to supporting the Government’s modest 5 per cent target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020”, we remind the powers that be:

“intrusive government has been demonstrated by history to beinefficient, cruel and discouraging to human achievement. Liberalism is a philosophy of strategic but limited government. The role of government is to set the framework of laws and other rules within which individuals and families can freely make decisions about their own lives and pursue their goals with confidence. By both the laws it enacts and the taxation it exacts, government should interfere ..."

After all that, we are more or less back where we started. The Rudd model for tackling climate change now looks remarkably similar to the Howard model from 2007. By the time the Coalition has forced further changes in the Senate — as it will — the scheme could end up almost identical to John Howard's. Tim Colebatch

Monday, December 15, 2008

Prime Minister John Howard says the Federal Government will introduce a new "cap and trade" emissions trading system … The Government will increase spending on measures to tackle global warming by $627 million … Mr Howard says the new emissions scheme will help Australia substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest cost.

"Australia will more than play its part to address climate change but will do it in a practical and balanced way in full knowledge of the economic consequences for our nation," he said.

Now the question is. If Howard was still Prime Minister or otherwise, if the Liberals retained power, what target would have been set?

It is not an easy question, however given the previous Governments balanced approach; one that placed equal emphasis on economic cost, I would venture to suggest that it would have been a soft target, certainly in single digits.

Despite his critics in the green brigade, John Howard would have touted such rational measures all along, Kevin Rudd on the other hand was happy - politically savvy - to raise expectations high, very high in fact, recall 25 to 40 percent by 2020 and 60 percent by 2050.

Today’s Federal Government decision to exclude our largest telecommunications provider Telstra, from the national broadband network tender process should come as no surprise. Indeed the reasoning provided - that its November 26 proposal did not include a plan on how to involve small and medium-sized enterprises - is nothing short of trifling and underscores what has been a rocky relationship between the Telco and Government.

I cannot see the sense of totally excluding Telstra from the process; regardless the Federal Government has treated the company poorly and this raises questions of integrity. Perhaps the Government sees this as payback for Telstra’s treatment of ALP mates as the companies present and past approach to matters IR are not in line with those of the Governments or it’s union bro’s.

Telstra chair Donald McGauchie said this morning:

Telstra is the only company to have submitted a proposal with a real financial commitment - $5 billion -” adding, “Telstra is the only company with the existing network, technical knowhow, world leading vendor, skilled workforce, established wholesale systems and proven track record of building world class networks.

Proven track record or not, if Conroy and the Government'sdecision smacks of any resentment, that is politics, then we shall all suffer for it - you cannot strengthen the weak by attempting to hurt the strong.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

For someone who is a confirmed conservative and has an Internet reputation as 'the man who wants to ban swearing' - thanks to my senate inquiry into the broadcasting codes of practice; I want to share my thoughts on Labor's proposed ISP filtering. It will likely surprise many readers that right now, I cannot support it. Let me confirm that a big part of me wants to support it. Surely anything we can do to prevent access to illegal material is a lawful and moral obligation. However, the proposal that is being debated in the blogosphere is so devoid of detail that no-one can form a considered opinion of the policy or reasonably become an advocate for it. >> more

Personally, I think the responsibility to protect our kids from some of the more unsavory elements of the WWW should fall with parents hence; the use of filtering technology should not abdicate parents of their responsibility. In any event, we have not heard or read anything in the past or present to inspire any confidence in the Governments censorship plans.

Moreover, let’s be clear on one thing, it’s typically only in oppressed societies as for example, China or Saudi Arabia that Governments would even consider forms of mandatory filtering.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

THE Poznan climate change conference guarantees the public will be fed the usual diet of myths and lies by an Australian media opposed to the Garnaut report, the most comprehensive published analysis of climate change mitigation so far. Paul Kelly >> more

The unfathomable "myths and lies" ignore the views of many in the science establishment who remain unequivocal about accepted conclusions in relation to CO2 emissions and climate influences. In an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, no less than 100 prominent scientists declared:

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued increasingly alarming conclusions about the climatic influences of human-produced carbon dioxide (CO2), a non-polluting gas that is essential to plant photosynthesis. While we understand the evidence that has led them to view CO2 emissions as harmful, the IPCC's conclusions are quite inadequate as justification for implementing policies that will markedly diminish future prosperity. In particular, it is not established that it is possible to significantly alter global climate through cuts in human greenhouse gas emissions. On top of which, because attempts to cut emissions will slow development, the current UN approach of CO2 reduction is likely to increase human suffering from future climate change rather than to decrease it.

In other words the current Climate Change debate, so accepted by mainstream media and many Governments - of which our own is no exception - is taking us and the world, in entirely the wrong direction.

The letter concluded:

Attempts to prevent global climate change from occurring are ultimately futile, and constitute a tragic misallocation of resources that would be better spent on humanity's real and pressing problems.

Monday, December 08, 2008

The Labor Government's naive attempt to stimulate world economic malaise from an Australian retail spend-a-thon is soon to be judged as an outstanding success or as profligate waste of an opportunity to create a long-term boost to infrastructure, said Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Leader of The Nationals in the Senate.

Today we have Government ministers behaving like spruikers at a bargain basement sale, exhorting recipients of $8.7 billion of payments to spend. They’ve got the boot full of vacuum cleaners and they are ready to sell, sell, sell. Instead of long-term employment on infrastructure projects we will have imported plasma TVs ... Consumer spending in Australia is a miniscule stimulation of other economies that actually produce the products that we buy,” he said ... Instead of a future asset to sell we will have an increase in the social disaster of certain vulnerable households exacerbating current social problems with the arrival of, not so much a solution, but a multiple-thousand-dollar problem. Instead of a long-term increase in pension payments we have a package that has plucked an amount out of thin air that squandered those funds for a long-term solution. >> more

Friday, December 05, 2008

Human nature retains an inordinate and profound faculty for self-deception and for that; we can thank the numerous leftist thinkers populating both academia and media… Now that you know where I stand, find excerpts from Senators Fifield's interview in relation to left wing bias in our educational institutions and media:

SENATOR MITCH FIFIELD, Radio 2CC Canberra with Mike Jeffries

5 December 2008

E & OE

SUBJECT: Academic freedom inquiry

JEFFRIES: “ … The other is the general concern about left-right bias, whether it’s in the media or more particularly in this case at universities. Now a report came out, this had been the result of a Senate inquiry and I thought this was worth noting, the Chairman of the Committee, Gavin Marshall, said the Committee’s finding is “in view of the relatively tiny number of submissions received from the hundreds of thousands of students who were said to be affected, there can be no basis for arguing that universities are under the control of the left.” He, Senator Marshall, said the inquiry was “a waste of time.” Commenting further on this is Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield who I believe sees it rather differently. Mitch Fifield is Senator for Victoria.”

FIFIELD: On the validity of the enquiry, “The committee report broke along party lines so there was a Government majority report and an Opposition minority report. So you’d expect Senator Marshall to give that short of response. But the genesis of the inquiry was the concern which had been expressed by many students at both secondary and tertiary level about the perceptions of academic bias on campus, the reasons for it and the avenues of redress. We did uncover some quite startling evidence. The Government senators as you mentioned stated that the inquiry itself was as a result of requests from the Young Liberals and Liberal Students and other campus Liberals. To some extent that’s true, they did request the inquiry. But Senate inquiries are often instigated by concerns expressed by members of the community and this inquiry was no different.”

JEFFRIES: “Anecdotally what you hear is students tell their lecturers what they want to hear so they get the kind of marks that they need. Whether that leaves a lasting impression on the remainder of their life is an interesting question. What’s your view on that?”

FIFIELD: “Yes it is an interesting question. There’s no doubt that some students feel the need to be strategic in how they frame their essay responses, in how they frame their exam work and that they do try and take a tack which will appeal to their particular lecturer. I guess that’s just human nature. If you’ve got a university academic who’s marking your work you want to please them and try to get a better result. My concern, and I think what was borne out of the evidence, isn’t so much that we have lots of individual cases of bias by academics. I think the greater concern is the curriculum and the course content which tends to be pretty monochromatic and doesn’t give a wide range of perspectives. Just one example, there’s a course at one university called Contemporary Ideologies and in this series of 12 lectures there was one lecture on liberalism and conservatism and 11 lectures on different sorts of socialism. Now I think what’s needed is a bit of balance and clearly that wasn’t the case in that course. But we also had some disturbing examples outside of university in primary school where one of my Senate colleagues came across a display at a primary school which had a picture of Mao Tse-tung displayed under the banner of "freedom fighter.” Now, you know, that’s certainly someone’s perspective. I think what we need whether it’s primary school, secondary school or university is a range of perspectives which are taught, a range of perspectives which students are exposed yo. I don’t think that’s happening to the degree that it should.”

JEFFRIES: “That’s interesting. I was talking to a colleague of mine and discussing the events in Mumbai and reports from what are generally considered to be left-leaning media. I said “oh about half the time they’re calling them ‘terrorists,’ the other half they’re calling them ‘anti-government protestors.’” And he said “well that’s an improvement.” Maybe so. But you hit on an interesting point, and I think this applies to media and certainly applies to education, it’s not where there’s obvious (inaudible), it’s not where there’s obvious editorialising, anybody can see that. The real bias comes in what you’re not told, what you’ve not covered, as in your example about, what was it, 11 of the lectures on socialism and one on the more conservative side of politics that might be offered.”

FIFIELD: “That’s exactly right. It’s so often what students aren’t exposed to. And in that particular example of the 12 lectures, 11 of them on socialism, that was at Melbourne University and Melbourne University in light of our report have no agreed to change that particular course and to provide a little more balance. There are other isolated instances which are disturbing. We had some students, or one student in particular, give evidence that one of their colleagues who was Jewish was eeferred to in a lecture as “our resident Zionist.””

No, of course, there is no bias; teachers and lecturers would not dare instill students with their leftist agenda, where do the conservatives get that notion?

Forget the Rudd Government’s populist computer-for-every-student routine, the real revolution is ready to roll, as reported in today’s Age. In this month’s Quadrant, Dr Kevin Donnelly, director of Education Strategies, explains what the ALP education revolution is really all about.

Dr Donnelly writes: Similar to Australia’s failed politically correct, outcomes-based education model of curriculum, the national goals paper argues that education must celebrate diversity and difference, students must become Asia-literate, and all must "respect Indigenous cultures and the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as a valued part of Australia’s heritage and its future” … [O]ne searches in vain for any mention of Australia’s Judeo-Christian heritage or what we owe to the institutions, language and culture inherited from the United Kingdom. Instead ... >> more

The appointment of former Communist Party member Professor Stuart Macintyre to oversee history as a subject in the national curriculum, Kevin Donnelly writes in today’s Ausralian, means that his worst fears have been realised. It also reveals that the Rudd Government is mounting a new left wing offensive in the ‘history wars’. In his 2007 book Dumbing Down, Dr Donnelly wrote:

“The way Australian history, social studies and geography are now taught provides a further illustration of how successful the cultural-left has been in imposing its approach on curriculum..." >> more

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan to continue with the education revolution misses the point. Over the past 30 years, state Labor governments across Australia have been revolutionising education as part of the left’s long march through Australian academic, cultural and media institutions. What is needed is a counter-revolution to root out the left wing ideology that has been so successfully implanted in the education system... >> more

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Fred Thompson discusses the Economy in no uncertain terms ... Stop what you are doing for a little over 8 Min's and listen up! It's well worth it for those willing to draw parallels with Australia.

"...The Government has figured out what we should do...more borrowing, more spending and consuming. That's right we can spend our way to prosperity ... We can bail out irresponsible home buyers, and big business that can't cut it in the marketplace and the rest of us can buy more stuff ... with our economic stimulus money..."

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Following on from concerns raised here, Brad Norington and Patricia Karvelas highlight some genuine unease about the proposed new IR changes.

THE Rudd Government faces growing business condemnation of its plan to allow a return to industry-wide union bargaining and an umpire's decision at the end of negotiations that fail. Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard is highly sensitive to the employers' concerns, dismissing claims that Labor's Fair Work legislation unveiled last week would revive the practice of "pattern bargaining".

But Ms Gillard is confronting protests from business groups led by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which argue a resurgence of union power would be inappropriate, especially during the global economic crisis.

Malcolm Turnbull has said Work Choices is dead and the Coalition accepts Labor's mandate to abolish the Howard government's regime. But Liberal MP Alby Schultz said yesterday he would break party ranks and vote against the bill, unless the Government agreed to amendments. >> more

Opposition workplace relations spokesman Michael Keenan weighed into the debate saying that he was deeply concerned that the bill will increase unemployment.

Just as Australians understand that the Labor Party stands for deficits, they also understand that Labor stands for unemployment," he said, adding “The Deputy Prime Minister risks becoming the empress of unemployment.

While Liberal backbencher Stuart Robert noted that the Government's bill breaks a promise regards unions' right of entry to workplaces.

These are things Mr Deputy Speaker did not vote for, in fact the Australian people were expressly and explicitly told the exact opposite … "They were told that many of these features would not be in any new legislation.

Monday, December 01, 2008

In a sobering piece, Glenn Milne reminds us that while Julie Bishop is being crucified for minor errors, Julia Gillard gets away with punching a massive hole in the budget.

THIS is a story about double standards. So, inevitably it is also about politics. And about Julie v Julia. The Julie, of course, is shadow treasurer Julie Bishop. And the Julia is Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister, the two highest-profile women in Australian politics. But being of equal status, does this mean they receive equal treatment from both the media and their colleagues? On the evidence of recent weeks, apparently not. >> more

Just yesterday Julie Bishop was forced defend herself against allegations that she is being forced to step down reminding us that:

"Wayne Swan is looking for the green light from the Australian public to go into debt but he has no plan to pay it off," ... "Once the country is plunged into debt under the Labor Government there is a very fair chance that they will raise taxes to pay it off. "That's what we've seen in the past, that's what we'll see again."

About Me

Generally, I'm known to most nearly all as Otto, my everyday designation, though my birth name is Ottavio. In addition to what I have stated in "about blog", I am partial to free market driven economies, free trade principles and the freedom for individuals to structure their own lives without Government interference. I would staunchly advocate that the "individual" is greater than any collective. I am socially conservative and support traditional morality and social structure. I champion fiscally conservative Governments - economic liberalism. However, not the subject of this blog, I also campaign for the continuance and preservation of global American dominance. I enjoy writing about that which interests me; I do so to impart knowledge and understanding, and to put both an individual spin and my own distinctive sensibility and perception on my chosen subject matter.

About blog

This blog both embraces and advocates a, pro-small government and, pro-free market approach to Australian public policy and the views. It rejects the contemporary notion that government is all-powerful, and that it can solve all our problems. It rejects the nanny state, excessive government interference in our lives, more taxes, more regulation and more public spending. It rejects the present Australian (Labor-Agrarian-Socialist-Independent) government coupled with its pompous dependency on the economically shallow Greens. It embraces a political philosophy, social and educational regime and/or attitude emphasizing respect for traditional institutions, distrust of government activism, and opposition to change, for changes sake to the established order. A view that recognises and defends the connection existing between members of an ethnic group based on shared ancestry, culture, religion, history and language. A view that questions political correctness. A view that recognises and defends our masculine identity as men or feminine identity as women, our role as fathers and mothers or husbands and wives within a traditional family based on a heterosexual union. A view that recognises and defends marital love and paternal & maternal love.

Guest Posting

The L Party is an evolving project, a work in progress with the aim of establishing a dedicated and broad base. To this end, I reach out to anyone interested, be it readers, journalists, academics or just interested folk thinking about contributing on a regular or, even one off basis as a guest poster. No blog can reach full potential without the participation of others. Submit a request to write via the email address mail on my profile page.

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This is a free speech zone

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
These words were first used by Hall, writing under the pseudonym of Stephen G. Tallentyre in The Friends of Voltaire (1906). They were not a quote, but a paraphrase of Voltaire's attitudes, based on his Essay on Tolerance where he asserts: "Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too".
Its ultimate origin may lie in a letter to M. le Riche (February 6, 1770): "Monsieur l'abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Source